The semiconductor integrated circuit (IC) industry has experienced exponential growth. Technological advances in IC materials and design have produced generations of ICs where each generation has smaller and more complex circuits than the previous generation. In the course of IC evolution, functional density (i.e., the number of interconnected devices per chip area) has generally increased while geometry size (i.e., the smallest component (or line) that can be created using a fabrication process) has decreased. This scaling down process generally provides benefits by increasing production efficiency and lowering associated costs.
Such scaling down has also increased the complexity of processing and manufacturing ICs and, for these advances to be realized. Similar developments in IC processing and manufacturing are needed. For example, a three dimensional transistor, such as a fin-like field-effect transistor (FinFET), has been introduced to replace a planar transistor. Furthermore, the carrier mobility is desired to increase for device speed and performance. However, the existing structures and associated methods are not proper to the 3D structure including FinFETs.
Although existing FinFET devices and methods of fabricating FinFET devices have been generally adequate for their intended purposes, they have not been entirely satisfactory in all respects. For example, the existing structures and associated methods are improper or not optimized to the 3D structure including FinFETs, especially for the high mobility channel. Therefore, what are needed are an integrated circuit structure and the method making the same to address the above issues.